Uefa have explained the reasoning behind awarding Manchester United a controversial penalty during their Champions League victory over Paris Saint-Germain this week.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side became the first team in the history of the Champions League to overturn a 2-0 home defeat and still progress following their heroic display in the French capital.

Romelu Lukaku netted a first-half brace either side of a goal from PSG defender Juan Bernat to set-up a tense finale at the Parc des Princes.

United needed one more goal to progress to the final eight of the competition and were handed a controversial lifeline when PSG defender Presnel Kimpembe was adjudged to have handled Diogo Dalot's effort in the box.

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Following a lengthy VAR review, referee Damir Skomina awarded the penalty before it was emphatically finished by Marcus Rashford.

The decision to award the penalty has divided opinion throughout the football world, especially Neymar who reacted angrily to the decision , and now Uefa have released a statement to explain the rationale behind the incident.

"The VAR, after checking various different angles available to him, recommended to the referee an on-field review following the penalty area incident," an Uefa statement read.

"Given the referee did not recognise the incident clearly during live play (referred to as a serious missed incident in the VAR protocol) an on-field review was conducted.

"Following the on-field review, the referee confirmed that the distance that the ball travelled was not short and the impact could therefore not be unexpected. The defender's arm was not close to the body, which made the defender's body bigger thus resulting in the ball being stopped from travelling in the direction of the goal. The referee, therefore, awarded a penalty kick.

"All the above-mentioned decisions were made in full compliance with the VAR protocol."